Quote:
Originally posted by onetime2
As far as its rigging not being an effective method of dispersing it, I don't think that's true. While it probably isn't the most effective method, it could/would cause considerable damage to those in the immediate area. Most of these roadside bombs kill only one or two soldiers out of half a dozen to a dozen in the area. The addition of sarin to the mix could possibly double or triple the death toll. When these shells are fired from an artillery piece, the two agents mix to enable the toxic combination. Exploding the shell will likely vaporize the containers and mix the ingredients in the shock wave of the explosion. Apparently this bomb was only partially triggered and the agents were unable to mix and yet two soldiers were still exposed to the nerve agent and had to be treated.
|
I think if the people who employed this shell had known it contained sarin gas they would have tried to use it as it was intended rather than as they did. It seems that simply exploding it likely does not mix the binary elements, as it didn't, and the two soldiers who were exposed were bomb disposal experts who were working on the bomb itself, and were so minorly affected that they were later released and the area didn't have to be decontaminated. So it didn't disperse.
I don't argue that if these shells were employed as they were designed it would be catastrophic for our troops, but apparently this was just a special shell thrown in amongst the stockpile.